Sometimes even when organizations are doing good work, their slogans are still funny.

In the parking lot of the strip mall near my office there's a clothing collection bin, like those ones you see around from the St. Vincent de Paul society or the Salvation Army. This one is sponsored by something called "Kiducation." Their slogan, as it appears on the side of the bin, is "Turning Old Clothes into New Kids through Education."

Now, I've heard of social engineering-- is this social tailoring?

Another possibility: "Turning Old Boots into Good Taxpayers through Operant Conditioning"

On a similar note.

Starbucks now sells "Ethos" spring water-- actually a really good idea; part of the price of every bottle goes to some clean-water program somewhere-- but it got me wondering whether there's a complimentary water brand somewhere-- less popular; more of a niche market-- called Pathos.

Excellent combination of books.

I'm reading Ronald Knox' The Hidden Stream-- a collection of lectures on Catholic doctrine-- and at more or less the same time Penelope Fitzgerald's collective biography of her family. Now, it turns out that Ronald Knox was Penelope Fitzgerald's uncle. (Ronald Knox! Was Penelope Fitzgerald's uncle!) And so, after reading Monsignor Knox' thoughts on "Our Knowledge of God Through Analogy"-- complete with Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur-- I read about Ronnie, aged six, picking flowers to give to his new stepmother. He seems to have been a bit Ferdinand-the-Bull-ish, and prone to wander off during games of cricket.

"I think all day, and at night I think about the past."
--Ronald Arbuthnott Knox, aged 4, when asked what he liked to do